Learn the basics of

Early Childhood Development

Starting at the beginning, this course aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge you will need to address the needs of a baby and toddler. From basics such as sleep schedules and feeding, the ultimate goal of this course is to improve your ability to care for and help stimulate continuous development of a child. By the end of this course, the student will be able to understand how a child is developing, the various ways in which development can take place, as well as have practical skills that they can use to help each child on their way to reaching their full potential.

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MODULE 1

Diploma in Early Childhood Development

1.Routine Ready

In this lesson, you will gain a profound understanding of a baby's experience outside the womb and how this can affect their behaviour. The importance of routine in settling a baby will be discussed and you will learn how to create a daily routine that will aid in having a more settled baby.

2.Comprehending Crying

In this lesson, you will learn more about why babies cry and how they use this system to warn that something is bothering them. This lesson will investigate the various reasons why babies cry and help you develop an elimination list to help narrow down and find the reason for baby's cries.

3.Successful Sleeping

Delve into the art of successful sleeping. This lesson discusses how much and how often babies should be sleeping, and looks at various ways to help babies fall asleep and sleep safely, and how to master the skill of swaddling.

4.First Feeds

Learn more about how much and how often babies should be feeding in the first few months. You will explore the requirements for introducing solids and learn more about feeding safety in this lesson.

5.Blissful Burping

This lesson explores why babies need to be burped and the many different ways that this can be done. Lesson 5 discusses various methods for burping a baby in terms of positioning, execution, as well as pros and cons to each method, so you will be able to choose the best method for you and baby.

6.Keeping Clean

In this lesson, you will learn how to interpret the contents of a nappy, how to clean a baby safely and effectively, and learn more about how appropriate nappy care can keep a baby healthy and happy.

7.Constant Cuddlers

Explore the world of the fourth trimester and how this can affect a baby's behaviour in those first few months of life. This lesson looks at ways to help both carer and baby get through the day without compromise and learn the skill of baby massage.

8.Tummy Time

Make sense of tummy time. The final lesson looks at why babies should be doing tummy time, for how long, and when to start introducing tummy time. This will discuss the various ways that tummy time can be done to accommodate a baby's needs (yes, even a baby with reflux!) and explore how to have a happy tummy time experience for you and baby.

1.Regulation Rollercoaster

In this lesson, you will explore the rollercoaster of how babies regulate themselves throughout the day and learn more about what this means in terms of their behaviour and overall happiness. You will learn how to identify warning signs of overstimulation and use the routine planning skills learned in Module 1 to help keep a baby well-regulated throughout the day.

2.Tantalising Toys

The world of toys can be daunting for a new caregiver. In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of toys, how they can be used in play, and discover what types of toys will help further the development of a baby and toddler.

3.Contrasts and Cacophonies

This lesson starts your journey into the sensory world of development. You will learn how the sense of sight and hearing can affect and contribute not only to development, but to the regulation of a child. This lesson also looks at responsible screen time and discusses practical ways in which sounds and colours can be used to improve participation.

4.Touches and Tastes

Continuing the journey through the sensory world, this lesson looks at the senses touch and taste. You will learn why babies should be playing with their food and the reasons behind it. This lesson also takes a look at finger feeding and helps you plan the ultimate finger feeding dish.

5.Gross Motor Grooves

Lesson 5 looks at gross motor development. You will learn more about what it is, how it develops, and why it is important for the later years in a child's life. This lesson aims to make gross motor play easy with key principles for enhanced development.

6.Fine Motor Fun

In this lesson, you will look at the smaller muscles and fine motor development. You will gain an understanding of how it develops and look at fundamentals for successful fine motor development. This lesson will discuss various fine motor activities and their key principles for development.

7.There's No Play Like People Play

This lesson explores the ultimate toy — YOU! In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of human interaction in terms of development and the various ways in which you can stimulate development by just making contact.

8.Scintillating the Senses

The last lesson of Module 2 takes a look at the remaining senses of the sensory world. It discusses how stimulating these senses can contribute to development, behaviour, and regulation, and uses new-found knowledge to plan a multi-sensory play activity.

1.The Huff About Milestones

Module 3 begins by discussing why so much emphasis is placed on milestones and when they should be reached. This lesson breaks down milestone development into its many parts and discusses how the knowledge gained in Module 2 can be used to help support milestone development.

2.Great Graspers

Lesson 2 looks at how grasp develops from birth to toddlerhood, and how it in turn stimulates other areas of development. In this lesson, you will explore activities for grasp development and principles to use in play.

3.Ready, Set, Roll

Rolling into Lesson 3, you will cover the how, why, and when of rolling. This lesson looks at why this skill is so important and how you can help a baby achieve this milestone.

4.Sitting Pretty

Lesson 4 looks at sitting and how this skill develops. You will learn all about when babies should start sitting and the various ways in which this can be achieved.

5.Crawling Cuties

Time to start moving! This lesson looks at how babies reach the crawling milestone, how you can help them, the benefits of crawling, and how to make your environment crawling-safe.

6.Standing Steady

Lesson 6 looks at standing — how a baby gets in and out of the standing position, when they should start getting into these positions, safety tips as well as top tips to help support standing development.

7.Willful Walking

In this lesson, you will look at those first steps. Learn how and when walking develops, look at safety tips for your environment, and discover top tips to help support the development of walking in a baby.

8.Driving Development

The last lesson of Module 3 looks at all the additional areas of development a baby goes through in order to be age appropriate and ready for their next set of learning goals.

1.Sign Right Here

Start off Module 4 with baby signing. Adding to the knowledge you obtained in Module 3, this lesson looks at how baby signing can be used to aid in communication when language is still developing and how this can reduce frustration for you and baby. By the end of this lesson, you will have learned three basic signs to use with baby.

2.Equipment for Everything

In this lesson, you will look at the various types of equipment available to make childcare easier. Discover the positive and negative characteristics of each and learn how to use them responsibly.

3.Marvelous Meal Plans

Combine your knowledge of the touch and oral-sensory senses with nutrition to make the ultimate meal plans and food experiences for babies and toddlers. In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of well-balanced meals and ways to motivate a child to try new or disliked foods.

4.Potty Party

Lesson 4 takes a look at potty training and discusses how continence develops, the ready signs for potty training, and how to make potty training fun.

5.Breaking Bad Habits

In this lesson, you will learn how bad habits and behaviours are formed, understand how they can influence a household and even future milestones, and teach you the skills you need to address these challenges successfully.

6.Motivation Magic

Lesson 6 takes a look at motivation and its role in development. Discover how you can motivate children, various reward systems you can put in place, and how to make your own motivational chart.

7.Managing Meltdowns

Meltdowns are an important part of child development. In this lesson, you learn what meltdowns are, how they differ from frustration, and techniques that you can use to help better manage meltdowns.

8.Successful Schedules

In the last lesson of this early childhood development course, you will put together everything you have learned over the course of four modules and apply your newfound knowledge to plan a daily schedule that will stimulate the senses, provide opportunity for regulation to reduce meltdowns, support the development of milestones, and set them up for daily success.